The Essential Cape Town Travel Guide

Its stunningly beautiful setting and dramatic history have long made this South African city a place of fascination, but now it is coming into its own as a style destination.

Its stunningly beautiful setting and dramatic history have long made this South African city a place of fascination, but now it is coming into its own as a style destination.

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A Cape Town Travel Guide

Cape Town's natural beauty—soaring cliffs that tumble down to the ivory beaches of the Atlantic coast and a skyline presided over by majestic Table Mountain—has always been its finest feature. "This Cape is a most stately thing, and the fairest Cape we saw in the whole circumference of the earth," explorer Sir Francis Drake wrote in 1580. Embedded in the city's hills and shorelines is an alluring, motley mix of Victorian, Georgian, neoclassical, Art Deco, and Cape Dutch architecture and undulating, palm-shaded boulevards.

For a simple (and delicious) lesson in Cape Town's rich and varied history, head to the Bo-Kaap quarter, a cheerful medley of marigold, violet, and chartreuse buildings that is home to the city's Muslim community. There you'll find bobotie, or baked mincemeat; dhaltjies, deep-fried chile bites; samoosas, or filled puff pastries; and melk porring, a baked milk pudding, all cooking in the neighborhood's kitchens. The origins of these dishes are as diverse as their names: a confluence of Dutch recipes encountering African ingredients, laced with Indonesian and Malaysian spices, and tweaked with dashes of Indian, English, and French influences.

Cape Town seen from the summit of Table Mountain.

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This unlikely mix of cultures began commingling as far back as the 17th century, thousands of miles from Europe and Asia, at the far-flung tip of the African continent. But the city's melting pot has been far from idyllic. South Africa's native black populations were subjugated for centuries, culminating in the horrors of nearly five decades of apartheid. This year, even as South Africa celebrates 20 years of freedom, it still strives to unburden itself of the ugly legacy of forced segregation.

With Cape Town designated the World Design Capital of 2014, its creative vanguard is faced with a complex mission: to implement inspired design that breaks down the divides that linger from apartheid. "Cape Town itself is quite fragmented," says celebrated architect Luyanda Mpahlwa, who returned to the city in 2000 after 15 years in Germany. "It has its own charm, its own character, and its own rich fabric. You don't want to destroy that, but you don't want a city in Africa that doesn't integrate all its people."

A room at the Babylonstoren guesthouse in the Winelands region.

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While Cape Town is still a work in progress, throughout the city you can catch glimpses of why South Africa now calls itself the Rainbow Nation. On any given Saturday, a cross section of Cape Town's most stylish residents converges upon a decidedly unchic swath of Albert Road in Woodstock, a gritty district on the fringes of town that has become the city's creative hub. At the weekly Neighbourgoods Market, local artisans ply organic honey, cured meats, and handmade leather goods to an eclectic mix of patrons clad in head scarves, Afros, and skinny jeans, with piercings galore. The market is housed in a Victorian factory that was restored by Justin Rhodes, who moved to Cape Town from the United States a decade ago, when the city was hovering in a postapartheid, prerenaissance lull. "It was quite underdeveloped, especially in the creative industries," he recalls. "There weren't that many people getting off their butts and doing anything." With his Zimbabwe-born partner, Cameron Munro, he opted to do something himself: The couple founded Neighbourgoods, as well as an art gallery called WhatiftheWorld, helping to spark the district's rejuvenation. Today, Albert Road is lined with artists' studios, co-ops, and restaurants (including Luke Dale-Roberts's The Test Kitchen, the most coveted reservation in town). The walls of the residential neighborhood just off the main street are frescoed with striking, larger-than-life murals.

Skinny LaMinx fabric shop.

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Trailblazing projects are popping up in other neighborhoods as well. At the bustling Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, the most visited site on the continent, work has begun on the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa. A historic grain silo building is being converted into a world-class showcase for African art. The museum is scheduled to open in 2016; meanwhile, visitors can take in highlights at a pop-up pavilion near the iconic Cape Grace hotel.

Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden.

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In Cape Town, businesses are often small and unorthodox. Young entrepreneurs feel no qualms about housing varied and unlikely businesses under the same roof. It's not unusual, for instance, to find a motorcycle workshop combined with a coffeehouse (there are at least two), or a café inside a furniture store, such as Pedersen + Lennard. One unique venture called I Love My Laundry is a combination Laundromat, art gallery, wine shop, and restaurant, with such festive events as a weekly fondue party.

Ebony gallery and design store.

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"People are keen on opening something quirky," says Reuben Riffel, one of the city's most celebrated chefs. "They're not merely cooking food that they know everyone expects and enjoys. The attitude is, 'Let's challenge them and do something completely different.' "

The pool at the Ellerman House hotel.

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In the Bo-Kaap enclave, for example, artist and designer François Irvine opened Haas Design Collective as a contemporary art gallery in 2010, then added a premium coffee shop as well as his own advertising agency, all within the same building.

Mondiall restaurant.

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While this sort of entrepreneurial fusion might seem indicative of a new trend, these multipart businesses are just the latest manifestation of Cape Town's rich heritage. After all, this is a city that, for hundreds of years, has taken a little bit of this and a little bit of that, blending it all into a flavorful concoction.

The dining room at Le Quartier Français hotel in Winelands.

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The country code is 27.

Take a hike. The 360-degree views from the summit of Table Mountain are sublime. The adventurous can hike to the top; for the less hardy, there are cable cars that ascend regularly, weather permitting.

Round the cape. A requisite for all visitors is the half-day drive around the Cape Peninsula, encompassing the fishing village of Kalk Bay, Boulders Beach (where penguins sunbathe), and the stunning views at Cape Point and Chapman's Peak.

Raise a glass. Winelands, South Africa's famed wine region, is only a 45-minute drive away. Highlights include Babylonstoren (babylonstoren.com), a chic farm resort; Overture at Hidden Valley (www.dineatoverture.co.za), one of the country's top restaurants; and Le Quartier Français (lqf.co.za), a luxurious guesthouse with its own celebrated art gallery.

Think creatively. Woodstock, the artistic heart of Cape Town, is the site of the weekly Neighbourgoods Market (neighbourgoodsmarket.co.za), Woodstock Exchange (woodstock exchange.co.za), and WhatiftheWorld Gallery (whatiftheworld.com). Many houses along the lanes to the west of Albert Road feature vibrant murals.

Alexandra Höjer Atelier clothing boutique.

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District Six Museum, 25A Buitenkant St., 021-466-7200; districtsix.co.za: A heartbreaking homage—made up of photographs, artifacts, and oral histories—to the residents of a multicultural neighborhood displaced by forced removals at the onset of apartheid.

Kirstenbosch, Rhodes Dr., 021-799-8783; sanbi.org/gardens/kirstenbosch: This beautiful botanical garden lies on the slopes of Table Mountain and is home to more than 7,000 species.

Robben Island, 021-409-5100; robben-island.org.za: The notorious prison where Nelson Mandela spent 18 years is a boat ride away from the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront. Tours are given by former inmates.

Cape Grace, West Quay Rd., V&A Waterfront, 021-410-7100; capegrace.com: An elegant grande dame hotel with 120 nautical-inspired rooms and a bar that boasts one of the largest whiskey collections in the country.

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